There are many causes of disruption or degeneration of the intervertebral disc that can be generally categorized as mechanical, genetic and biochemical. One such cause is the loss of the material made in the disc, which is called the disc nucleus pulposus.
Many injectable biomaterials have been developed as a substitute for the disc nucleus pulposus. Such materials include various proteins, including hyaluronic acid, fibrin glue, alginate, elastin-like polypeptides, collagen type I gel and others. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,773,249; 6,380,154 B1; and 6,184,348.
The invasiveness of introducing such materials into a disc may be minimized by injecting the material percutaneously, such as for treatment of degenerative disc disease (DDD). There thus remains a need for material that is strong and durable, and that can be visualized during the percutaneous procedure.